Hello September (a.k.a. MARATHON MONTH!!) Here’s how the first week of fall went (yes, there was pumpkin spice involved lol):

MONDAY

Rest day 😴

TUESDAY

Ran 3 miles to Pacers Navy Yards and then ran an additional 5 miles with the group for a total of 12.91 km / 8 miles. It was rough. 

WEDNESDAY

Run-mute down Wisconsin and Massachusetts avenue. I struggled the whole way (when I saw that the Bank of America thermometer at Dupont Circle showed 96 degrees I understood why!) I hated everything about this run, but I got it done which was basically my theme this week. 

THURSDAY

I had a work event at the French Embassy in the evening, so I knew I would miss track AND had to get my run done early. I did 8.5 miles / 13.7 km along parts of the mall and East Potomac Park and hated every minute of it, though it wasn’t as hot at least.

FRIDAY

Since I was having such a hard time with my runs, I thought I could use a little break before tackling longer distances on Saturday and took Christine’s 8AM spin class at Flywheels. I definitely think that was a good call! In the evening, I had a quiet dinner with Calla at Nicolette Italian Kitchen, a new(ish) Italian restaurant close to my place so I could be all carbed up and well rested before my long run in the morning!

SATURDAY

I decided to join the November Project DC’s Long Run Crew for the first time and that was such a good decision.

The route was a bit weird, two 8 mile loops, one pretty straightforward going around the capitol, along the mall to the Lincoln Memorial, up Rock Creek park until Pennsylvania Avenue then down K street and Massachusetts avenue back to Union Station (that loop meant I was able to stop home for my bathroom break!!). The second had us go to the Arboretum and then run around there for however much we needed before ending at Union Market for some post run treats.

It *never* happens to me, but I had people to run with!! Manuela, who planned the route, and Ari who is training for the Marine Corps Marathon, both ran at my pace. We lost Manuela at the Arboretum but Ari and I ran the whole 17 miles together which was awesome.

It forced me to push myself, not give up and take walk breaks, make small talk… I should clearly do this more often 😉

SUNDAY

Rest(ish) day. Corey and I ended up walking 10 miles that day… 3 in the morning walking his dog Stout, then almost 5 miles shadowing the GO Ruck light 911 commemorative work out around the Pentagon. And then a few more along the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria.

I kinda wish I could have done a bit of a shake out run, but it was a fun day (though deceivingly hot!)

Bilan de la semaine/mois: I started the week feeling so sluggish, dragging through my runs but ended on a solid note with a great long run (stats for the week: 62.4km/38.7 miles)! I’m feeling pretty good going into peak training week! Though I’m a little worried about that 20 miler!

What I’m watching/reading/listening to:  I finished Modern Lovers (I was doing this one half on my kindle, half on audiobook) during my 8 miles run on Thursday and I don’t really have another audio book queued up… since I had someone to talk to during my long run on Sunday, that was fine, but now i *need* to figure out a new read before all my runs this week…. help!

What I’m eating/drinking:  First pumpkin drink of the season! I tried Starbucks®’ Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew now that it’s September and I can do fall things. It was ok… at 250 calories a grande, I won’t be making this indulgence a regular habit.

What I’m looking forward to on week 15: Peak week!! Last week, I only did one of the two 5 miler I was supposed to do so this week, I am doing all 4 of my runs (2 x 8 miles, 2 x 5 miles), track + my 20 miles long run. Taper is just around the corner, I just gotta push it through one more week of increase! Wish me luck! 

Still linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down. I love checking in on everyone’s week and training. Hope you do too!